Clear Thinking
by cosmo-queen
Summary: Not everyone enjoys Christmas at Hogwarts this year. A lack of Christmas spirit can be expected from some, but not from others.
1. Chapter 1

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DISCLAIMER: I'm a poor unknown writer and J.K Rowling is a famous millionaire. I wonder which one of us owns Harry Potter? Just in case you couldn't guess, it's not me! So don't sue! (Although the plot does belong to me. Everything else is J.K Rowling's and co. Right!)

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CLEAR THINKING

She could take it no longer. The bitter tears which had been accumulating slowly in the corners of her eyes for the past half an hour were threatening to spill over if she remained any longer in the Great Hall. Thus far, she had been very careful to conceal all signs of the depression that weighed on her mind, but she could not maintain her acting skills anymore. A barely audible sob escaped her throat at the precise moment a single tear broke down the dam surrounding her increasingly blurry eyes. If she did not leave now, a flood was bound to follow. Besides, the aromas of the endless dishes of food piled high on the tables were beginning to make her feel nauseous. Her own meal was already too cold to enjoy.

She excused herself from the table, much to the surprise of her friends, who, all of a sudden, were aware of her presence and concerned about the unhappy expression on her reddened face. With a superficial smile, she explained that nothing was the matter- she had somehow rubbed pepper in her eyes and needed to go to the bathroom to try and wash the traces out. She commented on her stupidity and gave another reassuring smile, as her sharp mind commented on her superb acting abilities. The given answer was quickly accepted by her friends, who resumed their previous conversation. Wiping another tear from her face, she bitterly noted the time she had told her friends that if she touched pepper, her hands would redden and swell. She looked down at her hands. They were neither red nor swollen. Yet again, her friends had not been listening to her. 

Her relief on exiting the Great Hall was immense. The corridors were still decorated with red and green tinsel, plus various other trimmings which marked the tradition that had caused such a flurry of excitement throughout the day, in both the young and old residents of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although the noise very easily penetrated the walls of the Great Hall, the corridors were deserted and so the atmosphere was not sickeningly sweet and joyful. It was also considerably darker, probably because the glowing trees were confined to the Great Hall. For a brief second, it had crossed her mind that it would be fun to kick one of those cursed trees to the floor, and watch a chain reaction of broken lights smash upon the marble. Not to mention the chain reaction of horrified gasps that would form on everyone's face as they realised the identity of the culprit. But of course, reasoning and logic had prevented any serious damage from occurring.

She made her way up to the Common Room and headed straight for her dormitory. By this stage, her vision was too blurred to find the object she was looking for, so she simply laid down on her bed, and curled into a ball. Regaining her vision was her top priority now. She could not continue on with her plan in her current state. She needed to be able to think clearly to complete her task. Time passed. Eventually, the snowflakes falling outside her frosted window became discernible. With her eyesight restored, she finally brought her attention to the ring lying upon her neatly packed suitcase. It was a simple gold ring containing a sapphire stone. It had been given to her this morning as a present. And it had to be destroyed.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES: Got questions? I promise they will be answered in upcoming chapters. Provided that my inspiration doesn't fizzle out. And my main inspiration was Christmas, hehe. So consider this a late Christmas fic. Please review and tell me what you thought. Greatly appreciated :)

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	2. Chapter 2

For a moment, the anger she felt towards the ring lying so innocently in front of her faded. She knew in her heart that it had not been given to her with the intention of causing hurt or pain. On the contrary, it was a gift of love. The card which had accompanied it had been longwinded, talking about many matters, but of the ring, it had said that the sapphire stone symbolised her sharp mind and the gold symbolised love for her. If ever things did not make sense and logic threatened to defy her, she need only look at the sapphire, which above all, represented clear thinking. Something like that, anyway. She had torn up the card and burnt it, so she could not check for the exact phrase. 

A resentful laugh, which sounded extremely out of place in the empty dormitory, echoed around the room. Things definitely did not make sense at the moment. Logic was most certainly threatening to defy her. She looked at the ring, waiting for its supposed magic to work. How ironic that it did the exact opposite of what it was meant to do. The ring did not help her think clearly at all. Rather, it only clouded up her mind further with thoughts of anger. The ring had failed in its purpose and thus, she figured, it was pointless keeping it. It would only serve to remind her of the meaning of pain. Whatever pity she had felt for the ring was now gone, and destroying it was once again the only thing she wanted to do. 

Resolute, she headed out of her dormitory, and proceeded out of the Common Room, with the ring clasped tightly in her hand. She half wished that it would simply melt there and then in the palm of her hand, so that she would not have to follow out the rest of a plan that she knew was rather risky. But she had never been one to rely upon wishful thinking, and continued on, determined and certain there was no other way. As she approached the Great Hall, she realised, to her disgust, that the feast had ended and the students who had not returned home for the break were singing carols. Obviously, a considerable amount of time had passed. She began to run, so as to make sure that no-one in the Great Hall noticed her. There was always bound to be someone whose attention was diverted to the corridors rather than towards the Headmaster. 

She stole a glance at the festivities occurring inside the impressive Hall and caught a glimpse of her friends . It did not surprise her to see that they were acting foolish again, while belting out the well-known tunes in what she was certain was an off-key tone. She sighed as she realised that her whereabouts were not an issue of importance to them. It was not unexpected, but it pained her all the same. Once again, she felt as if she had been disregarded. Half of her argued that she had to be alone and that she did not want anyone bothering her about what was the matter. Sympathy would only interfere and make matters worse. The other half persisted that she would feel a lot better if she confessed what was troubling her. She needed to be comforted, and there was nothing wrong with someone telling her that they care.

With these thoughts coursing through her mind, she suddenly realised that the air had become cold. She stopped. She was surrounded by darkness and silence, and there was certainly no sign of anything remotely connected to the festivities occurring elsewhere around the School. It suited her fine. Pulling out her wand, she cast the _lumos _spell, and allowed the light to guide her to the place where she would finally destroy the accursed ring. Standing outside the door of her Potions classroom, she knew that any last trace of logic she might have had was well and truly gone. 


End file.
